Watchsted is our unique Ofsted intelligence tool, designed in order to give your school everything you need when that dreaded call arrives!
Want to sneak a look at your lead inspectors previous inspection grades? Or visualise and download your census data infographic to use as evidence? You can do it all from your Watchsted dashboard.
Watchsted helps you avoid last-minute searching or piecing things together from different areas. Instead, you’ll have everything you need at your fingertips, making it quicker and easier to show inspectors how your school evaluates itself, plans strategically, and evidences progress. In short, Watchsted helps you get Ofsted-ready, quickly and efficiently!
You can access Watchsted by clicking on Watchsted in your main Perspective toolbar.
Using the tabs along the top and the options on the dashboard, you can;
- Search for a lead inspector and take a peek at their inspection history.
- Keyword search main findings and recommendations to see what inspectors are saying about a particular area.
- View a map of the latest 100 inspections for schools by phase.
- Visualise your census data by importing your XML file into our infographic generator.
- View analysis charts for the latest 100 inspections or inspections by local authority, school type or date.
- View our supporting resources so you're fully prepared for Ofsted.
Download your SEF, Development Plan, Evidence files and Evidence base.
Note: As of 1st September 2024, Ofsted inspections no longer have an overall grade. These will be shown as No Overall Grade (NOG).
Inspector Search
Click Inspector Search on your Watchsted toolbar or dashboard to navigate to the Inspector Search page. Here, you will get great insight into the mind of your lead Ofsted inspector. You can check out their previous inspection data to see their key findings from historic inspections.
Note: Results will only show where the inspector was the lead inspector of a visit.
Click on the name of an inspector to access their Inspector Profile.
You can use the tabs on this page to view their main findings and recommendations, as well as a map of where the inspections took place. You can also download the inspection report by clicking the PDF button on the right-hand side.
Use the drop-down menu in the Total Inspections title to switch between inspections under the current framework (Latest EIF) or inspections under the old framework.
Depending on the framework you select, the legend will update with the relevant inspection data, along with a key underneath.
Be Ofsted Ready
In Perspective, the Be Ofsted Ready section shows you just how powerful Watchsted can be when it’s combined with the premium version of Perspective. With Perspective Premium, you can link your SEF, School Development Plan, SEF Evidence Files, and SEF Evidence Base Report directly into Watchsted. That means when inspection is looming, everything you need can be downloaded in a couple of quick clicks, no digging around or juggling multiple systems.
If you’re using Perspective Lite today, you’ll see that the Be Ofsted Ready options are locked. This is a glimpse of what’s available with Premium: the ability to manage all your self-evaluation and planning documents in one place, and to have them instantly ready for inspection. It’s a simple but powerful way to save time and show your school’s story clearly when it matters most.
Inspections Map
This area shows you a map of the country and displays recent inspections as pins on the map. As this is the latest inspection map, it will only show the latest 100 published inspections that took place across the country.
Click on a pin to view more details about the inspection, such as it's main findings, recommendations and a link to the Ofsted report.
Analysis
The analysis area of Watchsted shows the spread of judgements for the latest 100 inspections from the 2025 framework, depending on school type. You can change the school type by using the drop-down menu on this page. You can also view a benchmark comparison, which allows you to view more detailed analysis for inspections based on LAs and regions, for various school types and date ranges. Simply use the drop-down menus at the top of each table to view results for different criteria.
Please note: The analysis contains the latest 100 inspections under the New EIF Framework. This can only be adjusted in the Benchmark Comparison tables.
Keyword Search
The Keyword Search allows you to search the inspection database for key terms. This is really useful if there's an area of particular interest to you.
If you search for a term that is too generic, then you may be prompted with a message asking you to refine the search or confirm you are happy to wait. Once the search is complete, all inspections containing your keyword will be shown for you to view.
Supporting Resources
To help schools prepare more effectively, we’ve added direct links to key supporting resources. These provide practical prompts and checklists that leaders, staff, and governors can use ahead of inspection.
Questions Ofsted Might Ask
– Example questions that inspectors could raise, covering school context, safeguarding, curriculum, leadership, inclusion, and more. Click here for our dedicated guide.
Preparing for Ofsted Inspection – Key Information and Documentation
– A clear overview of the documents, evidence, and policies schools should have ready before and during an inspection. Click here for our dedicated guide.